Why I use Wikipedia

Post date: 16th February 2016

I laughed when I wrote the title for this post. Why did I laugh? Well, because it reminded me of a time during university when we were told never to use Wikipedia for referencing (I used Wikipedia; I just never referenced it).

I struggled with the rule, especially when it came to researching boring subjects and Wikipedia already had all the information. But now I’m older and wiser (I hope), I do understand why one shouldn’t use Wikipedia to reference an academic essay; the facts aren’t always 100% reliable. However, that hasn’t stopped me from using Wikipedia to do research for my writing.

So, why do I use Wikipedia? I have listed my reasons below:

Many of the Wikipedia articles have reference lists which link to reliable sources, so you can check what’s true and what isn’t.

Because there’s a reference list, you can easily find other articles on authoritative websites that make researching easier.

You can easily find what you are looking for due to the clear headings.

The internal links allow you to find extra information about the topic you are researching. You do need to be careful with this one because I have often found myself clicking on links and looking into things that I don’t really need to know about, which wastes time.

It’s quick and simple to use.

Now, while I do love using Wikipedia, I wouldn’t suggest that you solely rely on that website for all of your researching. For me, it’s my starting point, and I would be lost without it.

So folks, don’t be afraid to use Wikipedia or anything similar. But don’t reference Wikipedia in your assignments and essays, lecturers frown upon it.